Two week later, Harry was back from his business trip and ready to talk to Rose. He had had a lot of time to think and he had decided to fill Rose in on the details. One thing was certain in his mind and divorce was not an option for either both of them. He told himself that it would reflect badly on both of them if the split up. He knew that it was more than that; he needed more time with Rose. The thought of his house with Aria, without Max, without Danny and Belle, but most of all with Rose, made his heart hurt. No he wasn’t ready to call this marriage over yet.
Back at home, Aria and Max where with the Sullivans, so he decided to call his wife at work. Rose’s Secretary Ronda put him right through.
“Harry, you’re home! How was your trip?”
“It was great, but I am glad to be back. But Aria wasn’t at home to welcome me.”
“Yeah I would pick her up from the Sullivans before coming home.”
“Rose, don’t worry about it, listen, are you free for dinner tonight? I have some things I’d like to discuss with you.”
Rose paused, hearing something new and strained in his voice. “Yeah sure, I’ll be home. Do you want me to cook?”
“No I’ve made reservation for 8:00 at the Addison,” he said
“Sure,” she hesitated before asking, “Harry is there anything I need to be worried about?”
“No,” he said shortly. “So I’ll see you later okay, and have fun at work.”

Mel POV
Mel worried a bit about Harry’s call, and she was a few minute late when she walked in the front door, where Harry was waiting patiently for her. “Sorry that I’m late,” she said as she walked up to him.
He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.“Harry, are you ok?” she asked as she returned she peck his lips. “You sounded rushed on the phone. Or something.”
“I’m fine.” His hand was on the small of her back as he led her to their reserved table. “It’s just been busy the past two weeks and I miss my girls, plus you look nice,” he added as he pulled out her chair for her.
“Thanks.”
“Wine?” he asked as he looked over at the menus.
She looked over at him. “I’m not sure. Do I need a clear head?”
After ordering for their meals, Harry turned to Mel and said, “I want to talk to you about my uncle’s will.”
Not what Mel had expected, though she really had no idea on what to expect next. “His will.”
“Yes.”
Mel nodded. “Ok. Go no.”
“Before I left for the business trip, I got a call from his lawyer. Apparently my uncle left a supplement to the will, to be read before my 25th birthday.”
Mel leaned back in her chair, eyeing Harry carefully. “Please don’t tell me that we have to have kid in order for you to complete as the next chapter in our business proposal.”
“Not exactly,” Harry stated.
“What does that mean?” but they were interrupted by the waiter, arriving with a bottle of wine.
“It means that my uncle gave me choices,” Harry stated as the waiter left the table.
“Well that nice of him, since I don’t know...dead.”
Harry laughed. “Yeah he is more involved him my life now than when he was alive,” he admitted.
Mel took a sip of her water and asked quietly, bracing herself for more craziness. “Okay what are the choices?”
“We can stay married as dictated by the will and nothing changes.”
“OK.”
“Or we can divorce, go our separate ways, and I still get the voting options.”
She raised her eyebrows.
Mel set her glass down and looked across the table at Harry. She wasn’t sure how to take this statement. What Harry trying to tell her that there was no future for them? Despite the fact that she counted the days till the end of their contract, she knew that a part of her hoped that there might be some spark between them beside the help of their daughter Aria.
Quietly she asked, “Is there more?”
“I need to decide between my first two choices,” he stated watching her closely.
“Stay married or divorces me.”
“Yes.”
“And I have no say?”
Harry shrugged, his eyes shuttered. “Not really, the contract still stays till I void it.”
Mel shook her head, trying to figure out what all of this meant. “This involves my life. Why are you choosing not to discuss it with me?”
“I choose to tell you, Rose.So that I couldn’t keep this from you because you’re my wife,” he added, he eyes boring into hers. “It would not reflect well on either of us to marry and then divorce a year later. And for me if difficult with Aria and to everyone around us, so I see no reason to void the marriage itself.”
Mel was trying hard to control her temper, but it was getting harder. He had brought her here tonight so that she wouldn’t yell, wouldn’t make a scene. He had brought her here to tell her that he had already determined their future, without her input.
“So no further discussion,” she said.
“No, the most important thing is that you heard if from me. I didn’t want you to feel like I was deceiving you if you found out about the other condition later and I didn’t want it to upset you.”
“And you don’t think that this is upsetting?” she asked.
“I honestly don’t see why, Rose. Nothing has changed for you.”
Nothing had changed, she thought. She was till trapped in a marriage with a man who think little of her certainly not enough to consider her feelings. It hurt Mel about his lack of consideration toward her feelings.
Quietly pushing her chair, she gently stood up. “I need to go, Harry. If you don’t want the scene that you were trying to prevent by bring me here, you need to let me go.”
He started to stand, but Mel shook her head quickly. “I mean it, Harry I’m on the edge here and you don’t want to push me. I would pick Aria up and in the morning I would drop her off at Gran’s.”
“Rose I don’t understand why you’re upset,” he said. Mel felt sorry for him because he really didn’t get it; she sighed and pecks his lips as a goodnight kiss as she walked away from the restaurant.

Harry POV
Harry watched her go; once again she had reacted in a way that he didn’t expect. He didn’t understand Rose’s response; he thought that she might be relieved that he wasn’t trying to deceive her into having kids with him to inherit his uncle estates. He didn’t want money to ever truly be a deciding factor in his personal life, now that his personal life includes Aria and Rose.
Harry realised that Rose was truly upset, though he had no idea why. Because she wanted out of the marriage? Maybe, he mused, but he wasn’t about to let that happen, not yet.Harry wondered if he’d done the right thing by telling her about the supplement. He didn’t like the idea of keeping something so big from her.

Mel POV
Mel was still in shock, when she got home with Aria still sleeping. She understand everything about what a sudden divorce would do to their reputations, but what irritated her, frustrated her was that he didn’t consult her or asked about her feeling.She tried to picture what she might want him to say. ‘Thanks very much, but I no longer need you so bye?’
Circling around his decision again, she asked herself if divorce was what she wanted, if she was honest with herself, she’d say not. So what does she want?
The answer came when she was looking at Aria. She wanted Harry. Not as a pretend husband, but she wanted him, God help her, because she loved him, damn him, she thought. She loved everything about Harry and that was going to be the problem because two years would only spoil her forever for all other man, it would kill her soul knowing that Harry would never loved her.

Notes

Enjoy Lovelies <3 :)